This invention relates to an anti-skid or traction-aid device for a vehicle wheel assembly, and more particularly for use with a pneumatic tire of an automobile or the like. The apparatus of the present invention is designed for rapid and convenient installation while the vehicle tire remains in contact with the road surface.
A useful alternative to the common practice of employing metallic chains to envelop the tread portion of a vehicle tire is disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,497 and essentially includes an anti-skid casing with a treadwall and two spaced-apart side walls that exclude a circular segment sufficient to permit installation into an enveloping relation with a pneumatic tire. The section of the casing which is discarded is selected so that the vehicle tire can remain in continuous contact with the road surface while the casing is installed. A fastener is then installed to span the distance between the terminal ends of the casing and interconnecting them to retain the casing upon the pneumatic tire.
In other forms of anti-skid apparatus, an anti-skid arm is made from a narrow band or strap with a plurality of such arms arranged at spaced-apart locations about a surface of the tire. The manner by which the arms are supported is very important and greatly affects the successful use of the device. One general concept for supporting the anti-skid arms is to mount them onto a plate that is attached by the wheel lug nuts to the studs of the vehicle wheel. Examples of such a support plate are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,397,277; 3,426,824; 3,753,456; 3,996,984 and 4,089,359. The attachment of a support plate in this manner to a wheel assembly usually requires modification to the wheel assembly and/or longer wheel studs to accommodate the support plate which must be removed when not needed. Other forms of support for the anti-skid arms are designed to movably position the arms into supported relation with the tire surface by radially displacing the arms. Examples of such forms of support are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,601,882; 3,016,079 and 4,122,881. These forms of support are believed less than completely adequate to accommodate the loads and forces that are imposed on the anti-skid apparatus during use and generally require an operating mechanism that protrudes from the exposed side of the vehicle wheel.